HOUSTON (AP) Chris Sale is back with the Boston Red Sox and says he feels well enough to pitch. Whether he'll start Game 5 of the AL Championship Series remains to be seen.

Sale returned to the team Tuesday in Houston after being hospitalized for a stomach illness. The club hasn't specified the ailment or treatment, though manager Alex Cora said it was nothing serious.

"This is what he said: `I'm good enough,'" Cora said Tuesday night after the Red Sox beat the Houston Astros 8-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Cora said before the game that Sale, the potential starter Thursday night, might throw a bullpen during Game 3. That didn't happen, but the lefty ace is expected to work off a mound Wednesday before Game 4.

"He'll go out there tomorrow. And then we'll go from there," Cora said.

When players for both teams were introduced before the first series game in Houston, Sale lined up with the Red Sox along the third-base line. The seven-time All-Star started the series opener but missed Game 2 and didn't travel with the team after being hospitalized.

After Tuesday's game, Sale was among the first players to leave after the clubhouse was opened to the media. He was carrying a half-finished bottle of orange Pedialyte as he walked out without stopping to talk.

Sale was released Monday from Massachusetts General Hospital. He was hospitalized Sunday night for observation for what the team has called a stomach illness.

"First and foremost, we care about his health and how he's doing. Once we found out he was doing OK, we just wait until he gets back and talk to him," said Rick Porcello, the Red Sox scheduled starter for Game 4. "None of us really know what happened."

Cora said Sale began feeling ill and vomiting after starting the series opener Saturday night at Fenway Park, then went to the hospital early Sunday morning.

"He's a great teammate," said Steve Pearce, who hit the go-ahead homer Tuesday. "He has a presence about him when he's in the clubhouse, and he fires everybody up. We just want him to get better and get back out there."

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